


iNFiNiTY

by Diabolical Muffins (FuzzyPurplePenguins)



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, I'm sorry Paige, Paige Whump, Walter is only a bit oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-03-08 05:45:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3197609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuzzyPurplePenguins/pseuds/Diabolical%20Muffins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The thing is, it doesn't stop after the first dream.</p><p> </p><p>or, Paige keeps having the dreams. About Walter. It affects her more then she'd like to admit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	iNFiNiTY

**Author's Note:**

> My first Scorpion fic. Aaaaahhhh.
> 
> I haven't published fanfic in like a year and a half, so this is reeeeeally nerve wracking.
> 
> I'm still getting used to these new characters, so my apologies if the characterization is off a little. I did my best. The only way I can improve is by digging my hands into the sandbox and playing. :P
> 
> Charades gave me so many feels I couldn't even, oh my GOD. I had to write this because slow burn is not my style and I'm really just getting impatient and jumpy for Waige to actually happen. 
> 
> Can we talk about how beautiful this episode was? With all the Waige? AND TOBY CHECKING OUT HAPPY? I can't. I'm so done.
> 
> Anyway, I'm done talking. Enjoy the fic~
> 
> also what is a relevant title seriously

**xxxxxxxxx**

_"I just realized you have a nice voice."_

Those eight words haunt her all through the night, through finishing her paperwork and lifting a sleepy Ralph in the car, getting him home and tucking him in bed, through the minutes that slip past as she lays, spread out, across her bed, eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling.

Her heart beats faster as she remembers to earlier in the day, practically whispering sweet nothings in Walter's ear to help him with the assignment.

And, later-

_"I love hearing your voice in my ear."_

Paige grabs the nearest pillow, burying her face into the soft fabric as her cheeks burn up. She may be no genius, but she isn't a dummy, either; those words were for her.

They weren't just pulled out of Walter's brain to endear their target.

...were they?

Paige squeezes the pillow tight and sighs, rolling onto her side. Walter is a man of science, with a low EQ and no need for "the fairy tale that is love".

But still... She smiles wryly. Like Toby said, the heart wants what it wants.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

_The sand is soft under her feet, wind blowing her hair gently as she inhales the ocean air with a smile on her face._

__

_"I take it that this location is to your satisfaction."_

__

_Her smiles grows wider; she turns on her heels._

__

_"You're to my satisfaction-"_

"-Walter!" Paige gasps, sitting straight up in her bed, pillow still clutched in her hands. Her cheeks immediately start to flush once more and she drops the pillow, burying her face in her hands briefly before running her fingers through her hair.

So, the previous dream wasn't a one off. And while this dream had been less shocking than the previous, it is still enough to enough to make her heart beat fast.

Paige slides out of bed, shaking the thought out of her head. It's a Thursday, meaning school for Ralph and back to the garage for her-more dealing with Toby's know-it-all eyes and Walter's tepid inclinations to her.

She strides into her bathroom and splashes water on her face; tames her hair before padding down the hall and into Ralph's bathroom.

"Time to get up, sweetie," She says as she shakes his shoulder softly. "It's a school day."

Her son yawns, blinks up at her. "Can we stop at the Garage first?"

Paige glances at the alarm clock. "Don't think so, sweetie. We're running late today. We'll go straight after school though, how does that sound?"

Ralph gives her one of his shy, rare smiles. "Okay."

Paige smiles back, kisses the top of his head, and makes her way back to her room to get ready.

**xxxxxxxxx**

"Miss Dineen," Toby says dramatically as she enters the Garage. "You look awful."

She shoots him an unimpressed look, dumping her purse on her desk and practically flinging off her coat. "Thanks, Toby, you really know how to woo a girl."

Sylvester looks slightly cowed at her tone; Paige sighs and shoots him an apologetic look before practically diving back into the leftover paperwork from the previous night.

"Hey," Happy says. "Are you okay?"

"Deep circles under your eyes, slumping off the shoulders, eyelid twitching, the way you keep glaring at me...couldn't sleep?" Toby asks with his usual smirk.

"Don't see how it's any of your business," Paige hedges, tucking hair behind her ear and staring at the paper in front of her. The words are already starting to blur together. That can't be good.

"If you're not at peak performance, we cannot take you into the field," Walter says, and Paige nearly jumps; she hadn't heard him coming down the stairs at all.

"I'm fine," The brunette looks straight at him, ignoring the thump-thumping of her heart.

The genius observes her for half a second before turning his gaze and walking across the room. "Sylvester, have you started your calculations on-"

Paige tunes him out and turns back to the paperwork. _Don't think about it,_ She tells herself. _There's no chance it would ever work, so why bother yourself with it?_

**xxxxxxxxxx**

Around noon, Paige finds herself in a diner with Happy and Toby.

Walter and Sylvester are both absent, headfirst into their calculations while Cabe is off at the Homeland office.

"So, Paige," Toby starts, smirking a little. "Did you have the dream again?"

The brunette huffs, and opens her mouth to berate him, when the door to the diner swings wide open and in comes-

"Drew?" Paige rises to her feet, brushes off her work skirt, and folds her arms. "What are you doing here?"

Her ex-husband glances at Toby and Happy, both who are uncharacteristically silent. "I wanted to ask if I could have Ralph for the weekend."

Paige grabs her purse and practically pushes Drew out of the diner so they can have a civilized conversation without prying ears.

"We agreed on the weekend after next," Paige says firmly, planting a hand on her hip and drawing herself to full height. It's been a long time since she let Drew push her around.

"Yeah, but there's this game-"

"Drew," Paige cuts him off. "As it happens, I have plans that include Ralph this weekend."

"What," He says, bitingly. "No date?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business, Drew," Paige says sharply. "You'll see him in two weeks. Have a good day."

She whirls around and marches back into the diner.

"Not a word," She tells Toby.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

_"I heard you saw Drew today."_

__

_Paige huffs and closes the cupboard door shut, whirling around to face Walter in the tiny kitchen._

__

_"Toby just can't keep his mouth shut."_

__

_"Are you okay?" Walter asks, so softly she blinks at him._

__

_"Yeah I'm fine, he just wanted to spend more time with Ralph and thought ambushing me was the best way to get it," She rolls her shoulders. "It was no big deal, I can handle myself."_

__

_Walter stalks towards her, silent, like a cat, hand coming up to rest against her cheek. "I know you can. But I'll be there for you, if you ever need me."_

__

_Paige takes a quick intake of breath, back pressed up against the fridge as she stares wordlessly at him._

__

_"I'll protect you, Paige-"_

The brunette jerks to; nearly tumbles off her bed. It takes her a few seconds, but when she gains her bearings, she grabs the poor throw pillow and screams briefly into it.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

Paige takes to avoiding Walter to the best of her ability.

It's childish, and ridiculous, and unprofessional, but the brunette is trying to stomp down on her feelings for the genius and wrestle them into a lockbox so she can get on with her life, but it isn't easy when every single time she catches a glimpse of Walter her heart thumps at a breakneck pace and her cheeks tinge red like she's a schoolgirl all over again.

Which she's not. She's a strong, independent single mother who helps the government save lives, and a curly-haired, handsome genius is not going to break her down and make her act like she's seventeen again.

She went through that with Drew, and well, to say that was a train wreck was an understatement.

Paige knows the rest of the team-and perhaps even Ralph-know something's going on with her, but thank god Happy has Toby at least a little bit trained; they don't bother her about it, especially the fact she gets tired a lot quicker now.

She's strong, but the dreams eat at her subconscious and any sleep she gets is anything but restful.

Drew certainly doesn't help things; calling multiple times every day, trying to secure more time to see Ralph and eating at her nerves.

Weeks continue in this vein, until it all comes to a head on a slow morning when she's just getting in; goes into the kitchen only to see Sylvester's left the refrigerator door open once again.

She stares blankly at it for a while, knuckles whitening around the strap of her purse until suddenly it comes out - "Are you KIDDING ME?"

In the back of her mind, she's glad Ralph is at school.

She slams the door shut and whirls into the main room; slams her purse down. "Sylvester!"

He looks up from her chalkboard; face paling when he sees her furious look.

"You left the fridge door open again," She says, and the whole office has gone quiet, like they're just waiting for her to start yelling.

She does the exact opposite.

Paige's shoulders quake; throat closes up until a single sob spills over, and then the dam's broken and she's practically sobbing.

"WALTER!" Sylvester yells, voice wracked with worry, although Toby's already got an arm around her shoulders, guiding her towards the couch.

Paige sinks on it; tries to curl in on herself but Toby won't let her.

Walter's footsteps clack down the stairs. "What happened?"

"Paige is crying-I-I don't know what-"

"Sly, take a breath," Happy snaps. "Walt, one second she was mad the next she was just crying an ocean."

"There's been a lot of stress on her mind," Toby says calmly, still holding Paige. "She didn't tell us, but she hasn't been sleeping well and you know Drew keeps calling her. Whatever's going on, all that's just been adding on."

Silence reigns for a second, the only sound her soft hiccups and sobs.

Then-

"Paige." Walter's hands rest on her knees. "What's wrong?"

The brunette shakes her head and tries to pull her legs away from the genius' grasp; he just holds on tighter.

"Look at me, Paige."

"Walter, I don't know if this is going to work-" Toby starts.

"Paige." One hand comes up, pulls one of hers away from her face. "Open your eyes."

Paige sniffles, quieting down, reluctantly blinking her eyes open.

Walter's face is mostly blank, though there's a bit of softness around his eyes. "You going to tell us what's wrong, or do we have to pry it out of you?"

Sylvester hovers nervously in the background.

Paige bites her lip, stealing her hand back from Walter and folding her hands in her lap, glancing down. "I'm-"

"Don't say you're fine, you just burst into tears out of nowhere," Toby says, and the brunette tenses up a little.

"Leave us alone," Walter instructs, and Toby pats at her shoulders before wandering back into the office with Happy and Sylvester.

The genius gets up off the ground and takes the empty spot next to her.

"I don't want to talk about it," Paige says quietly, daring a quick glimpse at Walter.

"Things cannot continue in this vein," Walter says abruptly. "You have been pulling away from the team, becoming withdrawn and closed off. You are not sleeping well and you flinch every time your phone rings-usually when it is Drew calling you. You hold onto Ralph's hand tighter then usual and you avoid me. What is wrong, Paige?"

"I'm acquired feelings. Having dreams," She says quietly. "About a guy who will never love me back."

Paige unfolds herself from the couch and walks off; surprisingly, Walter does not follow her.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

_Hands thread through her hair; lips pepper against her neck, feather-soft. Loving descriptions whisper through the air, praises that make her toes curl and her face burn._

__

_"Walter," She whispers into the quiet night, and he looks up, smiles softly at her._

__

_"I love you."_

**xxxxxxxxxx**

"You have been dreaming about me," Walter says non-nonsense nearly a week later.

Paige nearly drops the coffee cup she's holding; doesn't hold back the yelp that leaps out of her mouth. "Walter, you cannot sneak up on people like-"

He takes the cup from her in a smooth motion and sets it on the counter. "You have feelings for me."

She blinks her big eyes up at him before a sudden thought occurs to her-

_This is a dream._

Paige clears her throat. "Yes, I do, but I-"

"I find myself curious about the...feelings this has arose in me," Walter continues, eyes dark. He cups her cheek and she leans into it.

"I wish to conduct an experiment," He whispers, lips inching ever closer, and Paige lets her eyes close when their lips finally meet.

He pulls her towards her; her fingers lace through his hair.

"Walter," She breathes, but before she can say anything more, a flash goes off and Toby's voice echoes.

Her eyes widen.

_This is not a dream._

Before Walter can go after Toby, Paige grabs the back of his neck and pulls him down for another kiss.

 

_This is not a dream._

****  
  


_**~fin** _

**Author's Note:**

> Concrit appreciated.


End file.
